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Chapter 4 of the Tale of the Lovell Legacy.

Chapter 4 of the Tale of the Lovell Legacy.

"It sounds as though we need to go back to Jodrell Bank," said Ellie. "I think
Barquith's disappearance and the strange goings on at the observatory
are connected."

As they arrived back at Jodrell Bank, they spotted Mel. "Hello again,"
they said. "You're back so soon?" she replied. "Now have you both got your phones switched off?" Both Mike and Ellie
checked that their phones were switched off, as Mel explained how the
telescopes at Jodrell Bank were so sensitive that they could detect
the radio waves from a mobile phone as far away as Mars and they
needed to minimise the interference.

"Here's a challenge for you," said Mel. "There are plaques
in the botanical gardens representing the planets. I wonder
if you can find them all? Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some other
tasks to look after."

Mike and Ellie wandered around the botanical gardens, surprised at how
dense some of the woodland was. "Look at the statue!" said Mike,
pointing towards an enormous stone ball nestled at the end of one
green glade. "It's to represent an asteroid, a rock from outer space!"
As he ran towards it, he heard a muffled scream. "Ellie!" he shouted,
and as he turned around he realised that Ellie was nowhere to be seen.

--

"You're coming with me!" said the man, as he dragged Ellie away. "The
boss, Lungrem, knows all about you."

"I've seen you before," said Ellie, as she struggled against the man's
grip. "You were studying the code in the newspaper."

"That's right," he replied gruffly, "You should have kept your nose
out of things that don't concern you. Now we have to make sure that
you stop your poking around."

They arrived at a wooden hut, hidden in the middle of the woodland.
The man opened the door, shoved Ellie inside, and locked her
in. As Ellie's eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw a white-haired
figure in a corner with his hands and feet tied up.

"Barquith!" she exclaimed. "They've captured you too!"

--

"Ellie!" shouted Mike, as he grew more and more worried. He looked
around the gardens and woodland, but there were so many paths that all
looked the same, he ended up getting lost. "Of the two of us,
you're the one with the brains," he said, "and now I don't know what
to do!"

--

"So there really is a Lovell Legacy?" said Ellie, after Barquith had
explained what he had found out.

"Yes," said Barquith, "Now we need to find some way of getting
a message to Mike, so that he can rescue us!"

"I've still got the note that you left for us at the Museum!" she
exclaimed. "I'll write a message to Mike; it'll have to be in code
though in case it falls into the wrong hands. I'm sure we can find
some way of getting it to him."

After she had written the code, Ellie tugged again at the ropes
binding Barquith's ankles, trying to
loosen them. The door opened, and the man who had captured her
walked in. "Had a nice chat?" he sneered. He glanced down at the
loosened ropes. "I think
you two need should be kept separately," he said, as he
dragged Ellie out of the shed, not noticing the paper scrunched up in
her hand.

--

Mike continued to look around the gardens. As he passed the Galaxy
Garden, he noticed a crumpled ball of paper wedged in a bush. "I recognise
that piece of paper. It's the memo Barquith for left us at Museum!
And it looks like there's a secret message from Ellie on the back. I
hope she's OK."

Your task:

The piece of paper Mike found is displayed above. Your task is to figure out what message Ellie has left behind on it for Mike. Once you have done that, submit your answer to the question below.